Toggle-actuated, plier type wrench



Aug. 3, 1954 B. BURNS TOGGLE-ACTUATED, PLIER4 TYPE WRENCH Filed Aug. 2l,1952 @y 01d, QAM/L Patented ug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICETOGGLE-ACTUATED, PLIER TYPE WRENCH Bruce Burns, Yucca Valley, Calif.Application August 21, 1952, Serial No. 305,537

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to wrenches and especially to wrenches which may belocked on the article to which they are applied.

Wrenches of the type in which it is intended that my invention beembodied are generally known as toggle wrenches or vise wrenches. Suchwrenches of this type as are in use at the present time generallycomprise and include a non-movable jaw and a relatively movable jawvuntil it is dislodged therefrom through the medium of a handle pivotedto said movable jaw. Since it is possible to over-adjust the movablejaw, it frequently is very dicult to dislodge said jaw from clampingcontact with an object after it has once been clamped thereupon in anoveradjusted condition. Due to this peculiar characteristic of prior artwrenches, it is frequently necessary to apply as much force in theprocess of opening such Wrenches to release the movable jaw from anobject as is necessary in initially clamping the movable jaw against theobject.

The closing and clamping operation is performed by gripping a pair ofhandles and forcing them toward one another in much the same manner asthe handles of a pair of ordinary pliers are manipulated. In such asituation the hand works in a position of maximum advantage and canapply great closing force with little conscious physical strain. Theuser of the wrench can thus close and lock an over-adjusted toolinadvertently or without being aware of the degree of over-adjustment.In the opening or releasing operation, however, when it is necessary toforce the handles apart, one hand works in an unnatural position and ata disadvantage. It will be observed frequently that a wrench may beclosed and locked on the work with one hand and without apparentexpenditure of undue force, but when a similar force is required forrelease, both hands must be used. Such wrenches are frequently used inconfined spaces and it is necessary to place the hands holding thehandles of the wrench in such confined spaces and apply the releasingforce. The consequent sudden release of the movable jaw frequentlyresults in the abrasion of the hands of the user of the wrench uponadjacent objects.

CJI

It is, therefore, a primary object of my invention to provide animprovement in wrenches of the vise wrench type which will lessen theprobability of their being over-adjusted in the rst instance whenoriginally gripping the wrench and will enable them to be more readilyreleased than has been possible with prior art wrenches.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improvement in visewrenches which can be readily incorporated in already existing wrenchesof this type and which can be easily and cheaply manufactured.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a vise wrench whichwill provide to the user thereof a greater mechanical advantage inunlocking the movable jaw of the wrench from an object than is providedin other wrenches of the same type.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be evidentfrom the following specification and the accompanying drawing, which isfor the purpose of illustration only, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, elevational view, partially in section, of awrench embodying the improvement which is the subject matter of myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, elevational view, partially in section, showingthe manner in which a Wrench, embodying the improvement which is thesubject of my invention, may be released from an object on which it isclamped; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the broken line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

My invention can be readily applied to a type of wrench now in wide useand which was in public use prior to my conception of the inventionherein. This old type of wrench will be rst described for the purpose ofexplaining the manner in which my improvement modies the action of priorart wrenches.

The words stationary and movable are used herein merely foridentification and for the purpose of illustrating the manner in whichone portion of a vise wrench constructed in accordance with my inventionacts in relationship to another portion. As a matter of fact, the wholewrench is readily movable.

The words upper, lower, upwardly, downwardly, and other words denotingposition, are used herein merely for convenience in identification anddenote the positions of parts in the drawing. In actual use, of course,the Wrench may be moved into any desired orientation in relation to theuser or to the center of the earth.

Vise wrenches as now generally manufactured and sold consist of astationary member |I formed from a metal sheet bent into a channelsection and having a stationary jaw i2 welded or otherwise fixed to theupper end thereof. The stationary member II extends downwardly and has athreaded socket I4 in the lower end thereof in which an adjusting boltor screw I5 is threaded. The screw I5 has a knurled head i3 by which itcan be readily turned by the fingers of the user.

A first pivot pin I3 passes through the stationary member H and hasdisposed thereupon a movable member 2|, preferably formed of a castingor forging, which bears a movable jaw 22 at its upper end which isadapted to be moved with the movable member 2i to cooperate with thestationary jaw I2 in clamping an object I8.

A generally triangular extension 23 formed inv tegrally with the movablemember 2i and being thin enough to extend into the channel in thestationary member I I permits the engagement of the movable member 2| bythe first pivot pin |3. The movable member 2| is thus enabled to pivotaround the center of the first pivot pin I3 which passes through thelower inner corner of the triangular extension 23.

A second pivot pin 24 passes through the lower, outer corner of thegenerally triangular extension 23 of the movable member 2|. A tensionspring 25 is hooked at its upper end in a. hole 23 in the generallytriangular extension 23 of the movable member 2| and at its lower end toa projection 21 formed integrally with and extending downwardly into thechannel of the stationary member II.

Pivoted on the second pivot pin 2d is a locking handle 3| which is alsoformed of sheet metal into a channel section, the upper end of thelocking handle 3| being bifurcated to extend upon each side of thegenerally triangular extension 23 and to engage the pivot pin 2.4. Athird pivot pin 32 extends through the locking handle 3| and engages theupper end of a toggle link 33. The lower end of the toggle link 33 ispivoted on a fourth pivot pin 35 which passes through a pivot block 36pivoted on or resting against the adjusting screw l5 to permit thepositioning of the lower end of the toggle link 33 by the adjustingscrew I5 and thus facilitate the longitudinal translation of the togglelink 33 within the channel of the stationary member I I.

The operation of the prior art vise wrench described above is asfollows: the wrench is grasped in the hand of the user with the end 33of the handle 3| about an inch away from its closed position and theadjusting screw I5 is rotated to move the fourth pivot pin 35 and itsassociated block 3S up or down within the channel of the stationarymember until the movable jaw 22 and the non-movable jaw I2 can bebrought into contact with the surface of a workpiece or object I8 whichit is desired to grip. When the movable jaw 22 has been so adjustedagainst the surface of the workpiece I8 that both the movable jaw andthe non-movable jaw I2 are firmly positioned against the workpiece, themovable jaw 22 is firmly clamped upon the workpiece I8 by moving the end33 of the locking handle 3| toward the stationary member II and thusshifting the center of the third pivot pin 32 a little to the right of aline 31-31 which joins the centers of the second pivot pin 24 and thefourth pivot pin 35, as best shown in Fig. 1. Ordinarily, as best seenin Fig. 2 of the drawing, when the movable jaw 22 is not clamped againstthe surface of an object, the center of the third pivot pin 32 will lieslightly to the left of the line 31-31. The amount of movement permittedto the third pivot pin 32 as it is urged by the locking handle 3| to theright of the line 31-31 is controlled by a stop 38 formed integrallywith the toggle link 33 whose abutment on the inside of the lockinghandle 3| stops the movement of the locking handle 3| in respect to themovement of the toggle link 33 and thus prevents the further movement tothe right of the third pivot pin 32.

The handle 3| and its associated toggle link 33 thus constitute a togglelinkage and it will be readily understood that, as the third pivot pin32 has its center moved to the right past the line 31-31 into its lockedposition, the toggle linkage constituted by the handle 3| and itsassociated link 33 can exert a theoretically infinite leverage betweenthe locking handle 3| and the movable jaw 22. After the third pivot pin32 passes to the right of the line 31-31, the :toggle linkage is locked,that is, the pressure exerted by the workpiece I8 on the movable jaw 22tends to hold the third pivot pin 32 in its over-center position. Thispressure may well be so great, in fact, that when the release of the jaw22 from the object i8 is attempted by moving the end 34 of the lockinghandle 3| away from the stationary member |I, as great a force must beapplied to the locking handle 3| as was originally necessary to lock themovable jaw 22 against the object I8. It is frequently very difficult toapply the force necessary to release the wrench from the object I8,

especially where the wrench is being utilized in a relativelyinaccessible position. Then, too, when the wrench is being utilized inclose quarters, the sudden release of the jaw 22 from the object I8against which it is clamped frequently results in the abrasion of thehands of the user of the wrench upon the surrounding objects,

It should be borne in mind that the toggle linkage can be set so thatthe workpiece may be firmly gripped by the user clamping the fingers ofone hand about the end 34 of the locking handle 3| and the stationarymember I l and squeezing the locking handle 3| in the direction of thestationary member Thus, it is frequently possible to lock the wrenchupon the object I8 in confined spaces where two hands could be used onlywith great difficulty. It is the object of the improvement hereinafterto be described to provide means for readily releasing the toggle evenwhen the wrench is in such an awkward position. It should be understoodthat the wrench, as above described, is in public use and was in suchuse prior to my conception of the improvement which is the subjectmatter of my invention and which will be now described.

The remedy for the above difficulties, which is the subject of thisapplication, is to provide an adjusting screw 40 which is threaded inthe locking handle 3| and which projects inwardly and engages the stop38. This screw 40 controls the degree to which the toggle formed by thetoggle link 33 and the upper part of the handle 3| may be set As thewrench is closed, the pivot pin 32 is forced toward and across astraight line between the pivot pins 24 and 35. It is only after thepivot pin 32 has crossed this line that the toggle is locked and forcemust be applied to the handle 3| to open the wrench. The amount of forcewhich must be so supplied is proportional to the distance the pivot pin32 moves over this Iacs'a'ai 5 line. 'I'his distance is controlled bythe position of the inner end of said screw 40, the further the screwprojects inwardly from the inner side of the handle 3|, the shorter thedistance the pivot pin 32 moves over the line and the easier the wrenchcan be opened.

It should be further borne in mind that by the proper use of the twoadjusting screws I5, which are employed in the present art wrenches, andscrew driver actuated screw 49, the improvement of my present invention,it will be extremely unlikely that the jaws will ever be clamped tootightly upon a workpiece. Should screw d prolect too far inwardly towardstop 38 of link 83, the jaws will have a tendency to spring open fromthe locked position. The user then by a slight turn of screw 40 awayfrom stop 38 will nd that the jaws will probably lock on the workpieceand further the jaws will be readily released with a minimum of forcewhich can be applied with one hand to the movable handle 3 I. Shouldth-e user wish to employ the wrench for temporary clamping, in much thesame manner as he would an ordinary pair of pliers, he need merely ad-Vance the screw Ail a few turns creating an unstable condition in thetoggle.

When it is desired to release the movable jaws 22 from the surface ofthe object I8 upon which the wrench is clamped, the user may turn thescrew Il inwardly, by means of a screw driver, should the wrench havebeen clamped too tightly on the object I8 due to an over-adjustment ofscrew I5.

I thus provide by my invention an improvement in wrenches of the visewrench type which permits such wrenches to be readily and easily removedfrom objects upon which they have been clamped. By the provision of myimprovement, the user of the wrench is afforded a much greatermechanical advantage in releasing the wrench from an object upon whichitl has been clamped than he is afforded when initially clamping thewrench upon an object. Therefore, the user of the wrench is alwaysassured that he may remove it from an object upon which it has beenclamped with greater ease than he clamps the wrench lil 6 initially uponthe object. Of course, the improvements which I have described above maybe readily embodied in already existing wrenches and therefore willpermit the improvement of the actuation of such wrenches at a moderatecost to the owner and user thereof.

Although I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be appreciated that other elements may be substitutedfor the particular elements shown herein without departing from thespirit of my invention, and I, therefore, do not intend to be limited tothe specic construction shown, but desire to be afforded the full scopeof the following claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a toggle mechanism, the combination of: a stationary handle; a togglemember pivoted on a first pin carried by said stationary handle; amovable handle pivoted at its upper end on a second pin to said togglemember; a link pivotally connected at its upper end to a third pinlocated on said movable handle, and pivotally engaged to a fourth pin atits lower end, said fourth pin being engaged to the upper end of a rstadjustable screw threaded in the lower end of said stationary handle; asecond adjustable screw threaded in said movable handle in such aposition that it coacts with a stop located intermediate the ends ofsaid link limiting the position of said link to control the ultimateposition of said link relative to said movable handle, said secondadjusting screw having a tool-receiving means and being recessed in saidmovable handle so as to present a continual smooth surface on saidmovable handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,201,918 Petersen May 21, 1940 2,280,005 Petersen Apr. 14,1942 2,299,454 Borchers Oct. 20, 1942 2,312,947 Westman Mar. 2, 19432,514,130 Jones July 4, 1950 2,589,511 Redmon Mar. 18, 1952

